With Spring break just around the corner, high school students across Montgomery County are getting in party mode. But, having fun does not have to involve alcohol or other drugs.
To give kids a safe, healthy way to spend a Saturday night and to promote good decision making, the Montgomery County Department of Recreation, the Youth Advisory Committee, and Montgomery County Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) partnered to hold the 18th annual Battle of the Bands at the Executive Office Building in Rockville on Saturday.
The six bands who played at the event competed for free recording time at Sheffield Music and Hit and Run studios.
“We promote this two weeks before Spring Break to promote [kids] having a healthy spring break,” said Stephanie White, Recreation Supervisor for the Department of Recreation. “It’s open to students county-wide, and we had 28 bands apply, from which we selected the top seven. The prevention message is keeping kids away from alcohol and other drugs.”
For the bands themselves, the event was a way to gain exposure, in addition to a shot at free recording time and gift certificates from Chuck Levins and Victor Litz Music stores.
Mike Sanzo, 16, a junior at Gonzaga High School plays the base and keyboards for Top Hat, one of six bands that competed in the event. A seventh band pulled out of the competition because a band member was ill. Mike said he received an e-mail about the event, asking if Top Hat would like to participate.
“I sent them our CD, ‘Don’t Wake the Smellephant,’ and they invited us to play,” he said. “We’ve been a band for four years. Me and the drummer started the band in 2003. We’re here mostly just for the exposure and the recording time [will] be great too.”
Top Hat drummer Ben Vinograd, 17, a junior at Walt Whitman High School, said the band plays at clubs and bars around D.C. and in Rockville. The band had a good time playing for peers on Saturday though.
“The crowd was high energy,” Ben said.
Montgomery Blair freshmen Tastia Habib, 15, Joanna McKee, 15, and Annie Sholar, 14, came out on Saturday to root for a friend who is a member of the Fighting Janes, the group that placed third in the competition. The girls said they thought that that the event did a good job of promoting alternatives to alcohol and other drugs.
“There are a lot of signs, so people are getting the message,” Annie said.
In addition to Top Hat and the Fighting Janes, Velhalla, Mission South, Red Means Go, and Subject to Change also competed. Velhalla took first place, earning eight hours of recording time in a Sheffield Music studio, and Mission South tied with Top Hat for second place. Both bands received five hours of recording time in a Hit and Run studio.